Cries of a Bleeding Heart
by loadedpistol
Summary: The gang is out scouting for Naraku and fighting demons, as usual, when Kouga pays them a little visit. What will happen when Sango discovers a pretty young wolf demon drifting face-down in the water? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

--Okay, this is one of two stories that I'm going to post on here... This is my first time posting any of my stories. I hope you all enjoy!--

Kouga the wolf demon lifted his head and sniffed the pleasantly familiar scent in the air

Kouga the wolf demon lifted his head and sniffed the pleasantly familiar scent in the air. He smiled to himself and quickly sped off in the direction the breeze had come from. It had been such a long time since he had seen her, and she might be worried about him. But she shouldn't worry. He was one of the strongest demons ever, and could take on whatever came his way! He could easily take down that stinking half-breed, Inuyasha. Why she chose to travel with him, he could never understand. She was _his_ woman, but they never did see much of each other.

Her scent became much clearer and he knew she was close. Suddenly, he spotted her up ahead. "Kagome!!" he yelled and jumped over to greet her.

Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara had been walking the forest path for hours. They had just finished slaying a particularly dangerous badger demon. Kagome had a small scratch on her arm from when the demon had tried to grab her, and Inuyasha had been beaten up a bit (when is he not--always the hero), but other than that they were all fine. Kagome had been thinking about her family and how much she missed them when her thoughts were interrupted. She heard a shout from above, and then Kouga landed in front of them.

"Hey, Kagome. Did you miss me?" Kouga asked, stepping over to his woman.

"Oh, hello, Kouga," Kagome said, "it's great to see you!"

"Speak for yourself," Inuyasha said, stepping over to the wolf, who had been standing a _little_ too close to Kagome. "Get out of here you flea-bitten wolf! No one invited you!"

"I didn't know I needed an invitation to see Kagome! Hey!" he said, noticing the scratch on Kagome's arm. "What did you do to my woman??"

"YOUR WOMAN??"

As Inuyasha and Kouga started to really get into their fight, Miroku noticed the sky was getting dark. "We should make camp," he told Kagome and Sango, who nodded. Kagome went over to where the two idiots were fighting. She stared at them hopelessly for a few moments until—

"SIT, BOY!!"

The forest shook as Inuyasha landed facedown in a pile of mud. "KAGOME!! What the hell was that for? You are such a b-"

"SIT!!"

Inuyasha thought he felt something break that time. He just lay groaning on the ground as Kouga laughed at him. "Aw, did the little half-breed hurt himself? Did the big bad doggie get beaten by a woman?" Kagome turned on Kouga and yelled "You're not helping anything! You're just making it worse!!"

Kouga looked stunned for a second, then quickly recovered by taking her hands in his and gently caressing them. "You're right Kagome, I'm sorry," he said softly. "And to make up for it, I'm gonna spend the night with you guys."

Inuyasha had gotten up by this time and pushed Kouga away from Kagome. "The hell you will!" he snarled, trying to intimidate the wolf. "Inuyasha…" Kagome started.

"What?! You're not seriously thinking of letting him stay the night? Kagome, he'll be all over you!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. _Inuyasha is such a big baby. Why can't he just warm up to Kouga? Can't he see I don't like him like that?_

An hour later, Kouga was sitting by a fire eating fish next to Kagome and Inuyasha was up in a tree, muttering angrily. "Mmmm… Great food and even better company…" Kouga murmured, leaning closer to Kagome, who looked very awkward, then edged away a bit. _You know, I really miss my family._ Kagome thought._ Maybe it's time to go and visit them again. But how will I tell Inuyasha? He's already pissed at me for letting Kouga stay. _Kagome sighed heavily. Inuyasha was so hard to take sometimes.

The next morning everyone woke up early. Kouga had to get back to his wolf tribe, but he promised to visit again soon. Kagome told him that she would be back in her own era and told him the village that everyone would be staying in. "What do you mean, you're going back?? What gave you the idea you could?" Inuyasha roared after Kouga had gone. "What gave you the idea you could stop me? I miss my family and want to go back!!" Kagome shouted back. "Keh. Why should I care? You're just a pain in the ass anyway." Inuyasha said with his arms folded across his chest. "Stop fighting, you two, or we'll never make it to Kaede's village," Sango sighed. "They are so childish," Miroku added, and Shippou said "Agreed."

They reached the village without incident. After visiting Kaede and treating Kagome's scratch, Kagome packed her bag and went back to her own time through the well. The others stayed in the village, but Inuyasha had threatened Kagome that if they heard any news, they would leave and come back for her later. "What makes you think I would want to come along with you after you treated me like that yesterday?" she asked him coolly, swinging her legs over the side of the well. "I'll come back when I want to, and you can't do anything about it." And then she was gone. Of course, Inuyasha was pissed.

Meanwhile, Kouga had just made it back home to his tribe. They were all happy to see him and gave him a large chunk of meat as a prize from their last hunt. As he was shoveling it into his mouth, two of the wolves came up to him and told him some rumors they had heard about Naraku. Apparently he was hiding nearby the village that Kagome had said she was going to be staying at. Naraku planned to overtake the village and hide a very precious item there. Kouga, rash as always, immediately set out for the village, hoping the dumb mutt hadn't done anything to get Kagome hurt.

It was such a beautiful day, and Sango always loved to take a dip in a stream, and this one was wonderfully warm today. She lay back and let the water slip under and around her, relishing in the calm it gave her. _It's so relaxing, just floating like there isn't a care in the world. No Naraku, no Kohaku, and no cheating monks to tear my heart apart. This is the way life should be._ She suddenly heard a splash and covered her self under the water, thinking the monk had come to spy on her. But the banks were devoid of all life. She looked around, curious—and gasped when she found the cause of the splash.

A girl, who looked around 15 and extremely beautiful, was floating face-down in the water. She had startling white hair and ears, and her robes looked like they had once been very expensive. They were now so torn and covered with blood it was impossible to make out the pattern. Sango waded over to her and dragged her onto the shore. She quickly put her clothes on and started calling for Miroku and Inuyasha. An hour later, the girl was sleeping in Kaede's house, her wounds healing themselves.

That night, as they were settling themselves in their beds, the door was flung open and the girl walked in. She was even prettier awake than asleep. She carried herself with amazing grace and had piercing green eyes with tawny flecks in them. She had field robes on, and they looked oddly out of place on her regal body. She looked around with a cunning glare and then addressed Inuyasha. "You're a half demon, right? You smell of dog and human." Inuyasha glowered at her angrily and said "What's it to you? You're just a wolf cub. I don't have to take any shit from you."

The strange wolf smiled mysteriously and turned her gaze to Sango. "Thanks for saving me in the river. I had resigned myself to being dead." "Of course I would save you," Sango replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, what happened to you? Why were you in the river?" The demon smiled again and shook her head. "I'm afraid you'll have to earn my trust before I can tell you." Sango noticed she was clutching a worn looking old sack, but said nothing. "I just wanted to thank you all and say goodnight before I turn in. I also wanted to ask if it's alright if I stay for a while." "Of course you can, beautiful," Miroku crooned, stroking her hand (he finally made his move. Well, at least he held out this long. Pervert). "And if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to talk to me." Being an asshole earned him an extra large bruise from Sango's hirokotsu. With one last tempting smile, the she-wolf left the hut. "Not very friendly was she," Inuyasha grunted, rolling onto his side. "Didn't even give us her name."

--Okay, so what did you think? I'd really appreciate it if you could review this and tell me what you liked or disliked... Thanks for reading!--


	2. Chapter 2

-- Hey, so I hope you're liking the story so far! Please don't forget to review!--

They continued to see the strange wolf at odd moments during the next few days. Whenever they tried to talk to her, she disappeared. It was like she was purposely avoiding them, and they had no idea why. Only Inuyasha was not wondering about this, but Inuyasha rarely wonders, does he? He was also too busy being pissed at Kagome. That's why it is really ironic that Inuyasha was the first one to talk to her. She was just sitting by the river, watching the cherry blossoms fall from the cherry tree on the opposite bank. He went up and sat down next to her. "Aren't ya gonna run?" he asked sarcastically. "No," she said, "I won't run." "Keh. Women," grumbled Inuyasha, scratching his ear with his foot. Suddenly, the girl dove into the river, splashing him with water. He got up and started cursing at her obscenely until she had to laugh at the water-drenched half demon.

Inuyasha shook himself vigorously and glared at her. "Who the hell are you, anyway?" he asked. She lay back in the water and closed her eyes with pleasure. "My name's Hitomi," she nearly whispered. And taking a breath, she dove under the water again and stayed down for a while. Grumbling about how women weren't worth the trouble, Inuyasha made his way back to the hut.

The day after Hitomi talked to Inuyasha, she came by the house Sango and Shippou were staying in. Sango had been lying in bed, thinking of Kohaku (she did this so often now she wasn't even sure if she had gotten up some days) and stroking Kirara. She had been in this dream-like state for longer than she cared to admit. She had no idea that Hitomi had even entered her room. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming toward her. Startled, she shot upright, upsetting Kirara in her haste to grab her Hirokotsu.

"Who's there?" she demanded of the dark room. Hitomi stepped out of the shadows, staring intently at Sango. "Oh," Sango breathed, relaxing after her minor heart attack. "You startled me. I was so into my thoughts I didn't realize you…" She trailed off when she realized how frightened the young women looked. "I'm so sorry if I scared you, that was just a reflex." Hitomi continued to look scared, staying half-hidden in the shadows. Sango was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. "Did you come to see me for a reason?"

Hitomi nodded slowly, her eyes never straying from the demon slayer's face. There was a long pause, and then "Sango?" "Yes?" Sango replied, startled. It was odd seeing the stoic demon so fidgety. "Have you seen a lot of suffering in your life? Have you suffered yourself?" Hitomi blurted out. _What strange questions_ Sango thought, cocking her head. She picked up Kirara and stared at her as she answered. "More than anyone should ever see or go through," she said, trying to conceal how much she cared about what had happened in her past. Hitomi nodded, staring off into space. "But you handle your burdens so well… Can you teach me how you do that?"

Sango was so shocked that she couldn't register what Hitomi had said at first. "What?!" Sango gasped when her brain had switched on. _What could this young, regal demon have gone through?_ "I don't really handle them at all…" she said curiously, staring at this strange girl. "Why do you ask? What have you…?" Hitomi turned very red and mumbled something unintelligible. Then she returned to her normal expression (or lack thereof) and considered Sango very seriously. "I want to tell someone what has happened to me, and you seem trustworthy…" She trailed off, staring at the landscape outside the window as the blind was lifted up by a cool breeze.

Suddenly she remembered herself and turned back to Sango. "The truth is," she said with a deadly serious face, "I feel like if I don't talk… I'll just burst. I'm not usually like this, you know. It's just that… so much has happened so quickly… my whole life is inside out and I…" Suddenly, Hitomi looked close to tears. Sango's heart went out to her and she found herself standing to go and comfort the girl. Hitomi sniffed and stared at a spot on the bare wood floor, her beautiful face set.

"You probably already guessed I'm royalty, right? No? Well, I am. One of the royal wolf family, not the daughter of a clan leader or anything like that. No, my father is the king of all wolf demons in this world, and my mother is their queen. We lived in a beautiful palace in the center of our kingdom. It was such a happy place, always something going on. For many years, our kingdom, and my family, flourished and had good fortune. A treaty had been made, and all the wolves were getting along beautifully. I and my brothers and sisters led a secluded but privileged life. But I always felt different, like what I had to be doing couldn't be done where I was. I was restless…

"That's kind of how I met Kanshou. I sneaked away from my studies and went to one of the courtyards. There was this boy playing there. I had seen him around the palace but didn't really know him. He was the son of the greatest war general in the kingdom. We were so rude to each other, but we really became fast friends. I got bored so easily, and he always knew just how to cheer me up. We made so much trouble for the servants. They pretty much grew to hate us. But the important thing was, we could really be ourselves around each other. No pretending to please our parents. We were simply…us.

"Kanshou and I were inseparable growing up. I bet you can guess what happened to our relationship as we grew older. Falling in love with him felt so right, and was so easy. He could be an ass sometimes, but he was always there for me. I guess I took for granted he always would be.

"You see, some wolf clans felt that the treaty between them was unfair, and began to squabble with themselves and other clans. Soon there were calls to tear down my family and purge the nation of us, since my parents were the ones who came up with the treaty… We were no longer safe and yet… my father was peaceful, too peaceful, and was reluctant to take any action. This gave the other wolves plenty of time to train and create their own army. I often urged him to do something before we were crushed. Then a terrible blow came… I am the second oldest, but my oldest brother ran away and… and joined the rebel army. He was actually working with other clans to bring down his own family…!!

"My mother had a heart attack and died shortly after. She was always there for me and my father and with her gone… he was almost comatose. Suddenly the weight of the whole kingdom was upon me, and I just couldn't!! I just…"

Here she paused, trying to get her self under control, and Sango stared at her face intently, soaking in all of this information, aware not to interrupt, aware that Hitomi needed this more than anything.

"Of course I took immediate action and tracked down the enemies of my family. Our imperial army, who were the finest soldiers our kingdom had seen in a long time, trained to face the rebel army. Kanshou, having completed his training and come of age (16 for wolves), was part of the main battalion, which his father led. I was so afraid for him to go, but he told me it was his duty. The army left in the spring. We followed their progress closely, until we heard nothing for months…

"The rebels somehow knew of their coming, because the evidence at the battlefield showed that they were lined up and waiting. They proved much stronger than anyone at the castle had anticipated, and the battle turned into a massacre. I will never forget the horror I felt when I looked at that sight for the first time… And knowing that he was out there, too... My father was too far gone to do anything and I was lost and overwhelmed. I take full responsibility for…

"Well, the rebel army was practically unscathed, but they were livid. On the night of my sixteenth birthday, when I received this name, as is the custom for coming of age, rebels attacked my palace. It was so sudden, and our finest guards had already been killed, so we were virtually without protection. The first thing they did was set our rooms on fire, then came into the palace to make sure that we were slaughtered. I will never forget waking up to the terrified screams of maids, their death cries echoing in my chamber, my own handmaid, who had pretty much been with me my whole life, beheaded before me… That night was pure hell on earth.

"The worst though, was when my littlest sister's head rolled past my door…"

She suddenly convoluted with sudden spasms of horror and sickness. She clutched her stomach as if to be sick, and Sango had a sudden vision of Kohaku's head rolling past her feet, and shuddered from head to toe, disgusted.

When Hitomi had composed herself, she went on. "There was a secret passageway out of the castle that no one but us knew about and was built just for an occurrence like what had been happening. I rushed all of my family inside it and was about to head in too when a baby started crying in the next room. The confusion and uncertainty and terror in those moments—I rushed back without thinking. There were flames all around me… I felt as if I was being burned, but no flames touched me… The baby was lying on the other side of the room, in one of the servant's beds. I grabbed it and started to run, but I had been too late, the rebel men were closing in on all sides. I…. got out of the castle by sheer luck, but I was exhausted. When I stumbled out of the side of the palace, I fell right into rebel hands.

"I was too tired, I couldn't fight. They knocked me out and the next thing I knew, I was tied up near a river. I have no idea what they did to me, but I felt intense pain. The men were apparently celebrating, and drank a _lot._ The smell of alcohol was nearly suffocating. I didn't think, I just acted on impulse. I rolled myself into the river and was carried to where you found me. I have no idea what happened to my family or anyone I once knew. I…. I'm alone in the world for the first time, and it scares me. It scares me so much!"

The tears that had wavered threateningly behind Hitomi's eyes suddenly slid down her cheeks. Sango was filled with pity, horror, and anger at the same time. This girl had been through so much! But… Was her story real? Somehow Sango felt it was, but she still wasn't sure. Even so, Hitomi was obviously distressed. Right now, all Sango could do was comfort and help her.

-- Okay, so that's all I have done so far. I don't know when I'll be able to update, probably not for a week or two. I have finals and stuff and school and just... life. When the summer _finally_ rolls around, I'll probably be able to update more often, but since I'm a slow writer and I'll be busy during the break, too, maybe not! Sorry, I'll try to be better! TTFN!--


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